Strong



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. s. ARMSTRONG.

FORM OF BUILDING MATERIAL.

7 No. 334,401. .Patented Jan. 12,1886.

N, PEIERS. Fholohfihognphar, Washinghm, BIC.

(N0 Model,) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

' J. S. ARMSTRONG.

FORM OF BUILDING MATERIAL. No. 334,401. Patented Jan. 12, 1886.

ETKRS, PhotvLilhog'aphar. Waahillginn, D C

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN SIMEON ARMSTRONG, on ST. JOHN, NEW BRUNSVVIOK, cA vADA.

FORM OF BUILDING MATERIAL.

SFECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 334,401, dated January 12, 1886.

Application filed May 27, 1885. Serial No. 166, 830.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN SIMEoN ARM- STRONG, a subject of Queen Victoria, in the Dominion of Canada, residing at St. John, in the county of St. John and Province of New Brunswick, Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Forms of Building Material; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and'exact description of the invention,which will enable others skilled in the industries to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The first part of my invention consists in the employment of building-blocks reversely curved or zigzag in horizontal section, such that they can be laid up breakingjoint, and while they will cover a large surface with a comparatively small amount of material, they, when built together, give breadth of base sufficient to render the walls laid with them as stable as brick walls built with an equal breadth of base, and the blocks, though covering a large area of wall, are comparatively light, and may be easily handled, the blocks being made so that the vertical joints come at corresponding points other than the points of extreme projection or depression; and I prefer to makethe blocks with a double or reverse horizontal curvature, and to make the face-curves equal, or nearly so, and with the vertical joints at each alternate change of curvature.

The second part of my invention relates to the use, with the above-mentioned blocks, of flat slabs passing through the walls-for instance, at the height of each story (to sustain the flooring) and at other partsall the projections of which may be more or less ornamented, as windows or door-frames, stringcourses or cornices, either inside or out.

The third part of my invention relates to the use of hollow or fluted joints in connection with the said blocks, the vertical ends of the blocks being correspondingly grooved.

The fourth part of my invention relates to the use of metal tatches in connection with the said blocks, of such shape that they will temporarilly or permanently assist in holding the blocks in place with the least practicable amount of cutting of the blocks, and such that when the blocks are used in a temporary building they will hold the structure together;

(No model.)

but the whole thing may be taken apart with little injury to the blocks or tatches, and as rapidly as it was erected. They are made preferably like a with heads or flanges on two of the opposite arms, with a distance between equal to the thickness of the blocks, and with points turned down at the ends of the other arms;or, instead of the arms with heads, a small tubular piece may project from the under side at the center, to fit into the hollow joint. In a double wall these tatches may be in pairs, connected by a light bar and forming one piece. The blocks may have plugs, of wood or other material, cast or set in them, for attaching the tatches or for fastening furring to; or metal or other lathing or slate can be cemented directly to the projecting parts of the walls for making a fiat finish on. In a double wall the space may be filled in with mineral wool, sand, or other non-conducting material; or, if the double wall is built with what was intended for the faces of the blocks facing each other, the blocks will fit closely together and tarred paper or other suitable substance can be set between, rendering the wall permanentlydamp-proof and airtight, even if otherwise built of porous material, such as terra-cotta lumber. All the whole blocks are preferably similar to each other, except that in different parts of a building they may be varied in thickness, while at the same time they may have the same facelines; and in each alternate course they are set with the convex part of the face toward the right hand, while in the other courses they are set with the convex part of the face to the left and over the other.

In the drawings, Figure 1 shows (isometrically) the corner of a building made withthe blocks a a, and with part blocks a to fill out the corners. These may be specially made or cut from any of the whole blocks. It also shows part of the wall built double, and the horizontal blocks or slabs b b, supporting the floor-joists j j, without cutting or building in being necessary. Fig. 2 shows a corner in plan with two detached blocks, a a, of different thickness, though with similar. faces. Tatehes are shown at c c. Fig. 3 shows a double wall with what was intended for the faces of the blocks turned together. Fig. 4 shows a double wall with tatches connected 3. The combination of the slabs b with a wall composed of the blocks a, substantially as described.

4. A wall composed of the blocks a, united I5 and secured together by the tatehes c, .as shown and described.

J. SHIEON ARMSRTONG.

Vitnesses:

HAROLD PERLEY? J. H. W. AVITY. 

